Pull the Mast final prep for Island Packet Yachts Refit

...there she is empty and with no mast...

This has been a monumental task, requiring 8 days with two of us working all day off loading our 35 foot Island Packet Yacht. We thought we had a fairly empty boat, and when people visited our boat, they always asked "Where is all your stuff?" and we would say, we really don't have that much stuff. .... WRONG on THAT....we have tons of stuff loaded on this boat, or at least we HAD tons of stuff. It is all now in a 5' x 4' climate controlled storage space. Now we know exactly what we have and how much of it there is.

5' x 4' storage, filled

I challenge anyone who lives aboard their cruising sailboat to try to empty it. You will be amazed at how much you have stored. We are now at 24 boxes plus items in bags, plus a mini van full. But then again, this is our home, we have lived here for the past two years. Imagine if you could store your home in a 5' x 4' closet...if you could, then you really don't have that much stuff.

Steve, the yard manager rigs the crane lifting point

After 5 days of work, we were ready to have the mast pulled. We wanted to pull the mast as it has been 11 years since she was last removed and inspected. The Snead Island Boat Work employees had the mast off in 45 minutes and taken to their storage yard. While there, we will rewire the lights and install new standing rigging and replace the sheaves. We plan to rebuild the boat in November after her factory refit.

Craig, Debbie, Radeen and Hayden visit at Pier 22, Bradenton

The most fun aspect is that we are near our great friends, Debbie and Craig, so we were able to have dinner with them for one more visit before we follow the boat on the truck to the factory.

Here are some random photos of the mast removal and our preparation.

We rentedI a mini van and it is filling up with stuff to go home, like our clothes, etc.

First step, we removed the mast collar at the deck and accessed the pin

Below the base of the mast, I disconnected all the wiring runs in their junction boxes

All the electrical wires were pulled from the side of the mast below the floor

A crane mounted on a truck lifted our 50 foot mast up and out, while Terry guided the bottom

Once lifted clear of the boat, the crane swings the mast to the ground cart

The yard workers help to guide the mast onto the cart as the crane operator lowerd it

There it is, our sailboat mast on the cart, ready to be wheeled to storage

Next job....wash all bedding and towels and store in sealed bags for November

Dinner...nothing left but a sip of Stoli

Island Spirit on the bulkhead at Snead Island Boat Works....ready for the truck with no mast

Impressive Florida clouds billowing late in the afternoon 

Next adventure.....load our 17,500+ lb boat onto a tractor trailer and drive it 34 miles north to Largo, FL, and then off load her into a building at the Island Packet Yachts facilities. The factory refit program will make her like new. More on that later!

De-Rigging for Island Packet Yachts Reft Program

...this is what a sail locker can hold...

It has now been 4 days of work de-rigging our boat and we are amazed at the amount of stuff we have moved into our 5' x 4' storage unit...10 boxes and about 5 large garbage bags of lines, life jackets and gear. We have made 6 runs with the mini van to storage and now are down to pulling the mast and boom. On Wednesday, May 22, we are trucking to Largo returning our yacht to the Island Packet Yachts facility where she was built in 1994!

A van full of dock lines and life jackets

With nearly 20 years of continuous use and 25,000 nautical miles on her ship's log, we feel it is time to have the factory give her a SPA treatment. We also have not had the mast pulled since 2002, so we will rework the mast with new standing rigging and wiring and a full inspection. The factory recommends that owners have their structural chain plates replaced after 15 years. The chain plates are the point of steel where the mast rigging connects to the deck. These are fiberglassed to the interior structure of the hull. We feel that no one is better skilled than the Island Packet Yachts team for replacing and rebuilding this integral part of the yacht. That is the key reason we are trucking her back to the factory.

We live here....while we are packing up...this is our HOME

Here is a current SHORT list for our refit

• Replace chain plates
• Replace all hoses
• Inspect all thru hull fittings
• Replace exhaust hose and muffler
• Replace coolant vented loop
• Replace the water heater
• Replace the stern tube and add dripless packing system
• Inspect and fix all grounding wires
• Inspect all wiring runs and wiring fittings

Optional Items to think about.....oh boy.....now we are going overboard!

• New corian counter tops
• New fiberglass water tank
• New fiberglass holding tank
• New sewer lines and toilet
• New overhead hatches and screens
• Varnish the interior
• New swim platform
• New companionway ladder, stainless steel

Van full of seats, boxes and cockpit cushions

OK, we need to STOP.....this Island Packet Refit program can really get carried away. Yes, they originally built this yacht, 20 years ago, but we do not need to fully rebuild it again! We really are trying to just focus on systems that are worn out or hoses and fittings that could sink the boat if they would fail. We are also looking at items that, once in the factory, would be a good item to upgrade or refit. After all, it is a monumental task trucking your boat back to the factory, so, we might as well make it as good as it can be.

When you look at the cost to move up to the next model, for us, that would be the Island Packet 40 foot model. The cost to move from our 35 footer to the 40 footer would be $75,000 more than our yacht. Then you have the sales tax of 5%. Then you have the yacht broker's cost of 10%. For all this cost, we get nearly the same boat, with a second head and about 5 feet longer. A 40 footer will NOT take us anywhere our 35 footer can't take us. So, we have decided to keep this 35 footer as our last cruising sailboat and refit her so she is good for the next ten years of sailing. That is our plan.

Here are some photos of this crazy work known as "de-rigging"

Hayden in the 5 x 4 climate controlled storage space

The first 6 boxes, tools, spare parts, safety locker and cushions

The whisker pole and battens do NOT fit in a mini van at 10 feet long

At Snead Island Boat Works, we can park the van next to the boat

This is a 4 panel solar array on top of a fixed bimini....it must come off for clearing bridges while on the road

Canvas off and panel one off, 3 more to go

All solar GONE....next, remove the SSB antenna and stainless steel frame

Stainless steel frame off and solar panels on the ground

Solar panels safely in storage along with snorkel gear and grill!

Whisker pole, canvas, sunshades, battens, dinghy gear....so glad to have a 16 ft. high storage unit!

Really crazy when you think about taking apart your "home" and placing it on a truck to send it back to the people who built it. This is the Island Packet Yachts Factory Refit Program and we are taking full advantage of upgrading our wonderful "home" ......today......pull the mast and boom....

Prep for Island Packet Yachts Refit Program

We have decided to send our yacht back the Island Packet Yachts Factory in Largo, Florida, where she was built 20 years ago! We will have the factory upgrade her and refit her with newer fittings and better systems. But first, how we got here...

Our last days on anchor for this second year of full time cruising were in Sarasota Bay and then at De Soto National Memorial. While in Sarasota, we spent another great night with good friends, Debbie and Craig.

Then we moved on, as scheduled, to Palmetto where we planned to prep for trucking to the factory. That is right, we will be hauling out our boat onto a tractor trailer which will then drive it over the highway 34 miles to the factory. This is no small feat, but first we need to prep it for trucking. That will be another blog post...

So, off we went from Sarasota Bay to ....HELLO TAMPA BAY with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge off in the distance.

We then anchored in the Manatee River off De Soto National Memorial site and explored the visitors center and trails. De Soto was CRAZY as his quest to find GOLD had him land here and walk to GA, SC, NC, AK, then to TX and eventually bail out down the Mississippi to the Gulf and then to Mexico. Along the way, he and his men were killing anyone and everyone that got in their way searching for Gold. This beach is where some historians think he first landed in Florida. 

That is Island Spirit right off the beach, enjoying our last night at anchor. Moving off your boat...IN MAY....seems odd, but that is what we are doing...

While here, we popped our last bottle of Champagne to celebrate our wonderful year aboard. We went from Rock Hall, MD to Long Island, Exumas, to Abacos to Florida to Lake Okeechobee to here on the Manatee River. What a great year it has been!

Yes, we may have gotten a little HAPPY that night, as champagne hits us hard :-)

The next day, the work began. We moved to the docks at SNEAD ISLAND BOAT WORKS where we began to tear down the boat. Notice all the sails and canvas and dinghy, etc., are in place. 

It all has to GO!

We boxed all the lockers: Tools, Spare Parts, Safety Locker, etc...This took about 6 boxes.

This is the van loaded for trip #1, boxes and cushions and seats. Off to storage.

We always flake our sails on the deck, just like you would have to do if you were at sea. This is a good skill to learn, plus the sails do not get grass or dirt on them as when done on shore.

All boxes were hoisted to the deck then offloaded to the ground then loaded into the van and driven to the storage unit, a climate controlled unit that is!

This is what your boat looks like when you empty the SAIL LOCKER into the cock pit. WOW, that locker really holds a lot of stuff. All empty, since the factory guys will need to work in this locker.

This is the van with all the dock lines, 10 life jackets, water jugs, fuel jugs, etc! This is load #2 to the storage unit. We rented a 4 x 5 space for all this gear.

We knocked it out on Day One and busted our tails. Look, all sails, and the canvas enclosure are off. All sheets, lines and the stack pack are also off!

Tomorrow, we have a surveyor arriving at 0900 to give us a condition and value survey and to point out any and all items that should be addressed by the factory refit team. This also was needed as we will be picking up a Florida Insurance policy since we will, this year, be in Florida DURING hurricane season which is June to November.

After this, we have the dinghy to derig and the mast to pull, then the yacht will be hauled and power washed and placed onto the truck. We truck out on May 22. Wish us continued good luck!

Sarasota Florida

Good friends, Debbie and Craig met us at Marina Jack's
IP440 CHARMED former IPY owners

I may begin to sound like a broken record, but.....THIS PLACE (Sarasota, FL)  IS GREAT! We really like this town and the waterfront facilities. Sarasota has worked hard to create a beautiful waterfront center based around Marina Jack's and O'Leary's. Up the hill from the waterfront, you will find a really vibrant main street with cafes, pubs, investment houses, salons, Whole Foods, library, public transit hub and more. Radeen and I always say that if we move anywhere, then the town must have a nice town center and a massive modern library.

The Selby Public Library of Sarasota

Ever since we earned our new master's degrees online via Drexel University, I gained a new love of and respect for public libraries. We worked on these degrees from the boat, as we traveled up the AICW in the spring of 2008. Along the way, we spent many full days in public libraries from Vero Beach, FL to Rock Hall, MD. We really enjoy spending time in nice public libraries and Sarasota has built one of the best.

The Mooring field and the no anchor area, Sarasota, Fl

Sarasota has also worked hard at ridding the harbor of derelict boats that ruin a waterfront. To accomplish this, they have installed a large mooring field (phase 1 now) and they have marked off a no anchoring section in the rest of the harbor. The remaining area for anchoring is far away and is in 4 foot to 7 foot water depths. If you ARE anchored, you have a very rocky shore line for landing the dinghy.You are not allowed to dock at their dinghy dock because you are NOT on their moorings!

So there are a few challenges to the cruising boater if you want to anchor. If you move in and take a transient mooring, of which there are only four, then you are directly up against the high speed channel leading boats into Marina Jack's. The obvious solution to this, is to move the NO WAKE ZONE out beyond the mooring field.

Town Center and the Whole Foods Market

Overall, Sarasota is really a great town, even with these small cruising challenges. Marina Jack's is a top notch facility with a beautiful waterfront restaurant.

I can see spending much more time exploring and learning about the Sarasota area.....

...Sarasota Dolphins and Water Fountain...

Our view from Mooring Ball #1 with Jack's Marina and Island Park off our stern

Jack's with the Dolphin Sculpture and Water fountain

Those palm trees are on the BOAT....a big tour boat

The No Wake Zone needs to be expanded! 

Where we anchored in the center of the harbor, before we were asked to move

Radeen handled this officer's notification of our anchoring error FAR BETTER than I would have.
I was working in the bilge on B&G wiring issues....

So, we have had a wonderful and a diverse time here in Sarasota. We have really enjoyed the town, the waterfront, and most of all, visiting our friends Debbie and Craig, whom we will continue to see as we move on 20 nautical miles to Bradenton and Snead Island Boat Works...